Category Archives: Inspirational

Successful leadership is about 90% people knowledge and 10% product knowledge. You can have strong people skills and not be a good leader, but you cannot be a good leader without people skills.

Successful leaders are able to discern the needs of their people instinctively, then take action to meet them. The following is a list of the most common needs of people and how to meet them effectively.

People Like to Feel Special – Compliment Them. The highest compliment a person can receive is one given by his or her leader. Mark Twain said, “One compliment can keep me going for a whole month.” Take time to notice your people’s work and don’t hesitate to tell them when they have done a good job. Make a habit of being generous and sincere with your compliments.

People Look for a Better Tomorrow – Give Them Hope. Jean Kerr said, “Hope is the feeling we have that the feeling we have isn’t permanent.” In other words, when your people are having trouble seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, remind them of the purpose of their work and help envision what their work will accomplish. With hope, people will work harder and longer to see a task through to completion.

People Need to be Understood – Listen To Them. Every leader would be wise to heed the Cherokee saying, “Listen to the whispers and you won’t have to hear the screams.” Don’t judge what your people want to tell you before they’ve told you. Take time to understand their point of view and listen to their suggestions. It’s the best way to ensure that they’ve been listening to you and it opens the door to innovative ideas for improvement.

People Lack Direction – Navigate For Them. Don Herald said, “Unhappiness is not knowing what we want and killing ourselves to get it.” Part of your job as a leader is to help your people figure out what they are most passionate about, and then help them pursue it. Sometimes that may involve a position change and allowing a person to pursue another opportunity.

Love People and They Will Love You In Return. I once heard it said, “Honey will attract more flies than vinegar”. When people know that we love them, they will do anything for us. Keep the honey flowing and it will keep attracting, and those attracted will stick! This is something I have learned after pastoring for 32 years.

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A little boy was riding around the block on his tricycle. Somebody said, “Son what are you doing?” He said, “I am running away from home.” The man said, “But you’re just going around and around.” The little boy said, “Yes, Momma won’t let me cross the street!”

Even when rebellion happens in the earliest ages, there is the restraint of parental training that is put in the heart of children. Today, we have a philosophy that says you don’t have to guide or discipline your children. After all, they’re all just inherently good (that’s false by the way). Just let the little rosebud unfold. The little rosebud will unfold to black your eye! You need to work and to train and to discipline.

Most of the lack of restraints in society can be traced back to the lack of training as a child. Proverbs 22:6 says, “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Unfortunately, you can’t go back and fix it. But we can help educate and train the future generations. Be a part of the Good the Bible says that will overcome the Evil (Romans12:21).

Train your families to love and serve God; to work and to train and to have discipline. You live by exampling a life of integrity. It is the way of the Lord and the only right way to get the right results.

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“He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much” (Luke 16:10).

Big things are made from smaller things, just like your body is made from cells. And those cells are made from molecules. And those molecules are made from atoms. Everything that is big is made from something small.

Think of all of the ages of time. Time is made from millenniums, millenniums are made from centuries, centuries from years, years from months, months from weeks, weeks are made from days, days are made from hours, hours from minutes, minutes from seconds, and seconds are made from milliseconds.

Everything big is made from something smaller. That’s the way your life is. It is the small things that really do make the difference. And when you are faithful in the little things, it follows as night follows day that you will be faithful in much. The only way you will be given larger things is to be found faithful in the little things.

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A man and woman were married for many years. Whenever there was a confrontation, yelling could be heard deep into the night. The old man would shout, “When I die, I will dig my way up and out of the grave and come back and haunt you for the rest of your life!”

Neighbors feared him. The old man liked the fact that he was feared. Then one evening, he died at the age of 98. After the burial, her neighbors, concerned for her safety, asked, “Aren’t you afraid that he may indeed be able to dig his way out of the grave and haunt you for the rest of your life?” The wife said, “Let him dig. I had him buried upside down…and I know he won’t ask for directions.”

It is difficult at times to admit we are wrong and to ask for direction. That kind of thinking is rooted in pride. Look what the scriptures say about pride.

Proverbs 16:18 – “Pride goes before destruction, and haughtiness before a fall.”

Pride can lead to destroying many things including relationships, jobs, and confidence. The simple message is this – If you need help, ask for it.

James 4:2-3 reads “You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.” (NIV)

You may not always like the answer, but submit to it. It will save you the destruction that pride produces.

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The story of the Prophet Jonah happened over 700 years before the birth of Christ. During this time, the nation of Israel had many enemies and one of the worst and most cruel were the Assyrians, whose capital city was Nineveh.

The Lord instructed Jonah to go and preach repentance to them and the Lord would forgive them. This was to be a lesson to generations to come how merciful the Lord will be to those that will truly turn from sin and toward Him.

Jonah hated the Assyrians and was extremely angry with them. This anger drove him to disobey God and run from his assignment. (The Book of Jonah is only 4 chapters and well worth the read)

James 1:20 – “For the wrath (anger) of man worketh not the righteousness of God.”

Four things Jonah’s uncontrolled anger caused:

He ran from the will of God.

He went through unnecessary troubles because he was out of God’s will.

He caused everyone traveling in life with him to suffer great distress and hardship.

He wound up in a very dark place.

Anger is a product of feeling you have been wronged and someone owes you. The greatest way to overcome it is to practice forgiveness. Forgiveness in biblical terms is to ‘Pass it Forth’ – give it to the Lord. God promised us He would fight our battles. “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord” (Romans12:19).

When we learn to pass it on to God – anger will no longer rule and destroy our relationships. Forgiveness is not a feeling. It is a commitment, and when practiced it brings tremendous victory to our lives.

Jesus said, “If you refuse to forgive others, your heavenly Father will not forgive your sins” (Matthew 6:15). Much of the heavy and stressful things of life are from anger and unforgiveness.

I want to encourage you to pray and release some issues to the Lord; experience some relief. Every time you feel the old anger issue rise, say “I forgive them and give it to you Lord.” It has worked for me for 36 years.

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I was taught that time etiquette is a very important part of life. If you are going to a meeting, you will generally at least be on time if you plan to be early.

If you are invited to eat at someone’s home, being early will probably catch them in the middle of preparing. It would be better to be a few minutes late than early for this appointment. Regardless, we live in a very time-conscience society and appointments are needed to regulate our time.

Time is one of the most valuable things we possess. The Bible teaches us that a certain amount of time is allotted unto each of us. Our days really are numbered. We would be unwise to waste it. The bible clearly teaches us that the condition of our soul in time will surely determine our eternity.

Hebrews 9:27 “And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.”

Are you using your time wisely and preparing for eternity? God created us to be eternal creatures, and the only true way to find lasting contentment is to use your time with an eternal mindset.

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Are you speaking encouraging words? I love to be encouraged and I need encouragement. And I will be honest with you – I don’t like to be around discouraging people, but sometimes I have to. It comes with the territory. The fleas come with the dog.

Discouragement opens the door for other sins and failures. II Corinthians 1:2-4 says, “Grace be to you and peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.”

Comfort is the same word for consolation or encouragement. God is the God of all encouragement. The devil is the sinister minister of discouragement. Discouragement is a major cause of failure.

Former pro-football player Bill Glass was preaching to one thousand inmates one day and he said, “I want to ask you a question. How many of you had a father who told you, ‘One of these days, you’re going to end up in prison’?” Almost every one of them lifted his hand.

Oh, how these men needed encouragement. How about you? God is the God of all encouragement.